In Review: Cthulhu Kids, All Ages Cosmic Terror & Mythos Madness!

By John Freeman on October 12, 2018

Writer: Peter Duncan
Artist: Andrew Pawley

The Comic: Meet the Cthulhu Kids at The Miskatonic Academy for Outer Entities- the most exclusive school in the multiverse for the children of Elder Things and Outer Gods! A mash up of vintage kids comics and the existential terror of an infinite universe.

The Review: What do you get when you mash up classic 1960s-inspired British humour comics dominated by the likes of creators Leo Baxendale and Ken Reid with a colourful, all-ages and funny take on the Cthulhu mythos? You get a project like Cthulhu Kids, which is, indeed, often very funny, with a script that’s scattered with tips of the hat to the Lovecraft source material from Peter Duncan (also Editor in Chief at Splank! comics), and some great art from Andrew Pawley, the creator of GalaXafreaks Comics.

There’s some wonderful Ken Reid-style type gags in this comic, and Peter Duncan’s encyclopedic knowledge of Lovecraft Mythos has clearly fuelled the story. Not only does Cthulhu Kids pay homage to the comics of the 60s through to the craziness of Oink! in the 1980s – it’s also a title that appeals to those who’ve will only just begun reading the Beano.

While on occasion the story does make some peculiar leaps that might throw younger readers it’s overall great fun, with smashing art from Dorset-based artist Andrew Pawley. There’s the kind of gruesome goings on you’d expect, but these are all totally slapstick and in keeping with the team’s aim of creating a title that is simply a delight to read.

About as gruesome as this comic gets – and funny with it!

Cthullu Kids is exactly what it says on the tin – a fun, all-ages comic. With the added bonus of a funny final strip “Hail to the Chief”, that’s absolutely in no way taking a swipe at the Most Powerful Man on the Planet. No siree…

Where Can I Buy This?

• Cthulhu Kids is available from boxofrainmag.co.uk – price £8 inc P&P or £12 for Cthulhu Kids 1 and Splank! – Paypal, to Splank@boxofrainmag.co.uk

• You can also find out more about the Cthullu Kids Project here on Facebook

Wait, There Is more!

• If this sounds like the sorts of bonkers fun you’d enjoy, then you may also be interested in the Cthulhu Kids: Cosmic Catastrophe, currently seeking finding on Kickstarter – a battle card game that introduces the concept of augmented attack scoring. With 24 character cards this exciting game is also a fantastic way to open up the mind bending universe of the Cthulhu Mythos!

About the Author
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John Freeman

John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.

He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.